CMG resolves complaint, gets freelancer paid
The Canadian Media Guild helped get a CBC freelancer paid this week. The freelancer had not been paid the appropriate rate for several years and had never been asked to sign a contract. Despite the fact that the problems occurred a number of years ago, the CMG settled the dispute and managed to negotiate appropriate […]
Taking the “free” out of freelancing
by Suzanne Bowness How many people here are thinking about going the freelance route at some point in your writing careers? My first question is met with a few raised hands, maybe a third of the room. I’m speaking on a panel called “Taking the ‘free’ out of freelancing,” organized by CWA Canada and Canadian […]
OpenFile freelancers post open letter to Wilf Dinnick
Some of OpenFile’s freelancers started a tumblr yesterday to try to get straight answers from the news organization’s CEO, Wilf Dinnick. OpenFile suspended publication in late September, promising to return within a few weeks after doing some restructuring. Last week, Dinnick spoke with J-Source about OpenFile’s financial problems. He revealed that OpenFile’s bank accounts have […]
Straight talk about unpaid internships
Last month’s Will Work For Exposure conference at Ryerson University may have been the first time a public conversation was held in Canada about unpaid internships. The panel on internships included this presentation from Andrew Langille, a Toronto-based lawyer and graduate student. Langille is responsible for Youth and Work, a website that provides information for young people […]
Experience or exploitation? Conference ramps up debate on unpaid internships
By Anqi Shen The culture sector, long known for its precarious working conditions, is shaping up to be more arduous for its workers. On October 19, a mix of students, professionals, artists and union leaders converged in Toronto to talk labour injustice at the ‘Will Work for Exposure’ conference at Ryerson University. Organized by Ryerson’s Centre […]
The good, the bad and the ugly of freelance work
Headline from today’s precarious work conference at Ryerson: freelancing for multiple clients can feel more secure than working for a single employer. That was a bright note for freelancing in the discussion so far, sounded by longtime freelancer Kim Pittaway. “Start your first job as a magazine editor and you’ll know what what true precariousness […]
Freelancer or employee? Which are you?
The BBC has been under fire this month for its practice of paying presenters and other contributors as freelancers. The Guardian reported yesterday that staff contracts will be offered to many of these individuals following a review of the BBC’s tax policies. The move is in response to accusations that the broadcaster has been complicit in […]
Content farm writing rates hit a new low
We all know how bad the downward pressure on freelance writing rates is these days. And with the proliferation of online “content farms” things seem to be getting worse. Over the weekend, the news and gossip site Gawker posted what they call the “worst writing job ever.” The ad, originally posted on Craigslist in Portland, is […]
What was in reporters’ pockets in 1920, according to Ernest Hemingway
This week the Toronto Star launched a micro-site dedicated to a reporter who wrote for them nearly a century ago. His name was Ernest Hemingway. Maybe you’ve heard of him? The Hemingway Papers includes contemporary reports about Hemingway’s time at the Star — including how it shaped his writing style and what he thought of […]
Smart on the page, smart on the screen—smart for the writers?
According to this recent Postmedia News article, it’s getting harder to fund documentaries in Canada. So the kind of partnership The Walrus and High Fidelity HDTV have announced—making documentaries “inspired” by Walrus stories and broadcasting them on High Fidelity’s eqhd channel and on WalrusTV—might be what the industry needs to continue putting our non-fiction stories […]
